Whole30 Episode 2: Revenge of the Sits

If you know me at all… like, at all… you’ll know that last month I tried the Whole30 diet. Because I still haven’t shut up about it.

I won’t go into the rules, as you can just as easily read about them here, but the bottom line of the diet is this:

Eat only real, whole foods for 30 days, omitting potential inflammatories (such as dairy, grains, and legumes). Of course, there are more guidelines, but as I said, I won’t go into them here.

The creators, Dallas and Melissa Hartwig, bet their bottom dollars that nearly any physical ailment can be aided or completely healed if we just change what we put in our body.

So, last month, I put it to the test.

I was suffering from a myriad of symptoms:

Acne

Chronic fatigue

Depression/mood swings

Digestive issues

Inability to handle stress

Insomnia

Overweight

Poor body image

… just to name a few.

Some are struggles I’ve lived with all my life, some were recent additions that I just couldn’t figure where they’d come from.

Following a recent change in my attitude toward life in general, I decided to finally do something about my health, and decided to try this fancy “diet” some friends had told me about. Basically, I was just going to see if it would do… anything.

Holy crap. It worked.

Without going into my extensive list of positives that I came out with at the end of the 30 days, I’ll just tell you that every single one of the symptoms mentioned above has either been greatly reduced or is GONE completely.

And the best part? I don’t really miss any of the foods I gave up. I don’t crave sugar. I don’t wish for creamer in my coffee.

I DON’T EVEN MISS CHEESE.

So, now that I’m a week off the program and still feeling amazing, I decided… why not do it again?I still have a few pounds to work off, and I kind of liked counting down the days.

Only, now that I’ve got the nutrition side down pretty well, let’s make things a little more interesting.

This month, I’m doing the Whole30: Exercise Edition.

This past weekend, I helped a friend move from one third-story apartment into another third-story apartment. And I was ashamed to learn just how freaking out of shape I am.

After unloading just the first truck-bed of boxes, my legs were ready to give out from underneath me. And this is partially what inspired my newest challenge:

In addition to following all the Whole30 rules almost to the letter (I’ve already recreated some delicious paleo ice cream, sans sugar), I’m challenging myself to add daily exercise as a Whole30 rule.

But I have 3 requirements for said exercise:

It must challenge my muscles

It must improve my endurance

It must be FUN

And nothing fits this description better than…

ZUMBA.

With an activity featuring blacklights, music so loud it will damage your eardrums, and a healthy amount of booty shaking, how can you go wrong?

So, that’s my story.

#Whole30E Day 1, post Zumba.

Keep checking back for updates on how this second Whole30 turns out. I can only imagine this will be better than the first.

I know I already sound like a walking Whole30 billboard, but seriously. If any part of this post intrigued you, check the program out for yourself. It’s not hard. Really, it’s not. And it may just change your health the way it did mine.

If you’ve already successfully completed a Whole30 challenge, or fixed up your nutrition plan to however makes you feel the best, why not join me for #Whole30E? You can do anything for 30 days.

C’mon. I dare ya. ;)

P.S. Yes, I know my punny title is off. Revenge of the Sith was episode 3… but I wrote this after 11pm, gimme a break!